Philippines Fest, the first Filipino Street Food Fair originating in New York City— with satellite locations in Virginia, Atlanta and Los Angeles— is running monthly until October 2023. It was founded by a collective of Filipino-American small business owners led by VJ Navarro (So Sarap NYC), Augelyn Francisco (Kabisera) and Paulo Manaid (Hatzumomo) who are passionate about promoting Filipino culture and supporting the community.
“We established Philippines Fest with one main goal, that is to represent our heritage,” Navarro shares. “Filipinos are known to be hard workers with so much talent, passion and heart. Each of our vendors curate their own products and showcase their unique twists while still preserving the roots of our culture. So many of them are so well known nationwide— worldwide even. Balita [news] travels all the way back to the motherland.”
Patok by Rach’s lechon croquette
Some of these vendors include New York-based lechonera, Patok by Rachel; Oohlam, which serves homestyle Filipino dishes; Japayuki, the new Filipino-Japanese concept by Kabisera restaurant; So Sarap NYC, which specializes in Filipino street food; and Washington DC-based Sari Kusina by chef-partner Paolo Dungca, which was recently named by Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema as one of his favorite places to eat right now.
Sari Kusina’s kare-kare brisket, made with 18-hour-cured beef brisket, by chef-partner Paolo Dungca … [+]
So Sarap, known for their Filipino street food, will be serving their fish balls, squid balls, pork … [+]
Pastry chef and chocolatier Daniel Corpuz, who competed on Netflix’s “School of Chocolate,” will be selling his popular bonbons and ube donuts; and Salamat Cookies, their Filipino flavors-inspired baked goods. Logan and Co., owned by the festival’s youngest vendors, five-year-old Logan and three-year-old Jaxxon, will ensure guests are kept hydrated with their calamansi juice.
Asides from his popular bonbons, pastry chef and chocolatier Daniel Corpuz will also be selling ube … [+]
Salamat’s small-batch, Filipino-inspired cookies are made by mother-and-son tandem Mike Williams II … [+]
Logan and Co., owned by the festival’s youngest vendors, five-year-old Logan and three-year-old … [+]
Clothing and accessories are also available like Hatzumomo, known for their usage of handwoven fabrics and indigenous textiles in clothing; and Shop Fleurenz, known for their hypoallergenic, tarnish-free and affordable 14k gold jewelry pieces.
Caps by Hatzumomo, known for their usage of handwoven fabrics and indigenous textiles
Twenty-four-year-old Fleurenz Villar’s eponymous Fleurenz is known for their hypoallergenic, … [+]
“All of us working together has built a sense of family and togetherness,” shares Navarro. “We’ve made such a connection and kept a strong relationship throughout the years. This is what kept us going. We all look after one another, as we expand and succeed from one festival to another.”
“We established Philippines Fest with one main goal, that is to represent our heritage,” shares … [+]
The first Philippines Fest took place last April 15 at 6th Avenue in Manhattan. Dates for the succeeding Philippines Fest are as follows:
May 21- Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York
June 10- Ube Festival, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
June 18 – Philippine Independence Day, Manhattan, New York
July 9- Times Square, Manhattan, New York
July 22 and 23- Virginia
August 12 and 13- Atlanta, Georgia
September 9- Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York
October 7- East Village, Manhattan, New York
October 28- Los Angeles, California
For more details and updated location addresses, visit Philippines Fest.